In an effort to promote safe sex practices, US-based sexual and reproductive health care organization, Planned Parenthood, passed out free condoms with QR codes on the packaging to enable people to share their responsible behaviors as part of its “Where Did You Wear It?” campaign.

By scanning the codes using their smartphones, people were directed to a page where they could share basic personal information such as age and sex and check-in to an interactive world map, which showed the approximate location of the couples.

It was reported that more than 55,000 condoms with QR codes were distributed in Washington state alone as part of the campaign. The idea is to overcome the significant barriers that exist in getting people to adopt behaviors that help reduce unintended pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. In effect, by demonstrating how common it is for sexually active people to use protection. Planned Parenthood distributed the condoms to college and university health care centers.

According to Nathan Engebretson of the Great Northwest Coordinator for Planned Parenthood:

We hope the site promotes discussions within relationships about condoms and helps to remove perceived stigmas that some people may have about condom use. Where Did You Wear It? attempts to create some fun around making responsible decisions.

Not only was the campaign intended to be playful and positive, but it also provides valuable data to the organization about who their message is reaching, perhaps helping them to design more effective marketing. So far, all 50 states and six continents have reported check-ins.

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